Howe Island is an island located in the St. Lawrence River west of Kingston

Kingston, Ontario

Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...

 in Frontenac County

Frontenac County, Ontario

Frontenac County, as defined by Statistics Canada, is a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. It is located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario. The City of Kingston is included in the census division, but is politically separated from the County of Frontenac. It has a land...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It is part of the Thousand Islands

Thousand Islands

The Thousand Islands is the name of an archipelago of islands that straddle the Canada-U.S. border in the Saint Lawrence River as it emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. They stretch for about downstream from Kingston, Ontario. The Canadian islands are in the province of Ontario, the...

 chain. Together with Wolfe Island

Wolfe Island (Ontario)

Wolfe Island is an island located at the entrance to the Saint Lawrence River in Lake Ontario near Kingston, Ontario. Wolfe Island is part of Frontenac County, Ontario. Together with Howe Island, Simcoe Island, and Hickory Island forms the Township of Frontenac Islands. It is the largest of the...

 and Simcoe Island

Simcoe Island

Simcoe Island is a small island in Lake Ontario, just off Wolfe Island, close to Kingston, Ontario, and Amherst Island. The island in almost completely farmland and can be reached by ferry from Wolfe Island...

, Howe Island is part of the township of Frontenac Islands

Frontenac Islands, Ontario

Frontenac Islands is a township located in Frontenac County, Ontario, Canada. It had a population of 1,862 in the Canada 2006 Census, and encompasses five islands at the beginning of the Saint Lawrence River near the outlet of Lake Ontario: Bayfield, Garden, Hickory, Horseshoe, Howe, Wolfe and...

, created through municipal amalgamation in 1998.

Howe Island measures 13 km (8 mi) long and 5 km (3 mi) wide and has an area of 31 km² (12 mi²). The main channel of the St. Lawrence River passes to the south of the island, while the Bateau Channel passes on the north between the Canadian mainland and the island.

History

Howe Island was originally named Ka-ou-enesegoan by local Iroquois

Iroquois

The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...

 and later Isle Cauchois after its first French owner Jacques Cauchois who took possession in 1685. It was named Howe Island after William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe

William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe

William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB, PC was a British army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British forces during the American War of Independence...

, a British officer who served under General James Wolfe

James Wolfe

Major General James P. Wolfe was a British Army officer, known for his training reforms but remembered chiefly for his victory over the French in Canada...

 at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham

Battle of the Plains of Abraham

The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec, was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War...

 during the Seven Years' War

Seven Years' War

The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...

, and first appeared on a map in 1818 following a survey by Captain (later Vice Admiral) William Fitzwilliam Owen

William Fitzwilliam Owen

Vice Admiral William Fitzwilliam Owen , was a British naval officer and explorer. He is best known for his exploration of the west and east African coasts, discovery of the Seaflower Channel off the coast of Sumatra and for surveying the Canadian Great Lakes...

 of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

.. There is some evidence (received by oral tradition) that it was at one time also called St. John's. There is no evidence of any permanent habitation until 1810 by a man named William Casey. In the following four decades successive waves of settlers brought many of the island's long standing families who still live or own land there.

Demographics

The population of Howe Island in 2001 was 496, although this figure expands in the summer months when recreational properties are occupied.

Transportation

Two ferry

Ferry

A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

 services connect the island to the mainland: on the west from the community of Pitts Ferry

Pitts Ferry, Ontario

Pitts Ferry is a community that is part of Kingston, Frontenac County, Ontario, Canada.-Geography:Pitts Ferry is on the east side of Kingston on the Bateau Channel of the Saint Lawrence River, on north shore of the river. The north shore of Howe Island lies across on the south side of the channel...

, part of Kingston; and the "Foot Ferry" on the east from Gananoque

Gananoque, Ontario

Gananoque is a town in Leeds and Grenville County, Ontario, Canada. The town had a population of 5,287 year-round residents in the Canada 2006 Census, as well as summer residents sometimes referred to as "Islanders" because of the Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence River, Gananoque's most...

. The "Foot Ferry" is also affectionalty know to the Islanders as the "Scary Ferry".

Howe Island has a shared community of farming, as well as "cottagers". In recent years the number of full time residents has significantly increased. The Island also has a small Roman Catholic Church- St. Philomena's.